Arrest made in Easton triple homicide

Nearly three years after Easton's bloodiest slayings ever, police charged the two remaining men they have long suspected in the triple murder and arrested one of them.

Olayiwola Hollist, 26, was picked up Thursday morning in Newark, N.J., on three counts of homicide and three of conspiracy, Northampton County First Deputy District Attorney Terence Houck said at a news conference.

Demar J. Edwards, 31, also of Newark, is wanted on the same charges, and police are asking for the public's help in finding him. Edwards is believed to be armed and dangerous and anyone seeing him should immediately call 911, Easton police Inspector Matthew Gerould said.

Hollist and Edwards are the last of four men charged in the execution-style shootings of three people in Easton's West Ward in November 2007.

"If these two guys qualify for the death penalty, we will seek it," Houck said.

Davis, 22, of Freemansburg, was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges in January. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole when a jury deadlocked over giving him the death penalty.

Gray, 33, of East Orange, N.J., also faced capital murder charges, but admitted in May to three counts of conspiracy to commit third-degree murder and received 13 to 26 years in state prison. As part of his plea agreement, Gray agreed to cooperate with police and prosecutors.

Houck said Gray's statements to authorities were a key reason warrants were taken out Wednesday for Edwards and Hollist. Previously, Houck has said he lacked enough evidence to charge the two.

"It was a matter of building the case further," Houck said. "We had evidence in the beginning, but I was confident that if we did this additional work we'd be able to prosecute them, and we are."

According to the court affidavit in support of the two arrests, Gray told police he rode in a car with Davis, Hollist and Edwards from the Newark area to the 128 N. 13th St. apartment where the slayings occurred. Edwards had a handgun, and Hollist was given one by Davis, Gray said.

Gray said the four men went to a bedroom on the third floor, where he saw Hollist and Edwards shoot the three victims, the affidavit said.

Rene was targeted, Armour "knew too much" and Hamlin was "in the wrong place at the wrong time," prosecutors said during Davis' trial. Another man marked for death, Lakimdel Spring, 24, escaped through a window, according to testimony.

In Davis' trial, Houck alleged it was Davis who was one of two shooters.

"There have been allegations of three separate people that may have pulled the trigger here," Houck said Thursday. "For our purposes, they all went there with the intent to kill and that's been our contention from the beginning.

"I don't really care that much who pulled the trigger," he added. "I'm more concerned with what their intent was, and they all intended to kill."

The police affidavit also draws on interviews police had with Davis after his arrest, in which he placed guns in the hands of Hollist and Edwards as well, according to the filing.

Another man, Chonce Acey, 23, told police he drove with Davis to the Newark area the day before the killings, then stayed behind when Davis, Edwards, Gray and Hollist headed to Easton, the affidavit said.

Hollist was arrested without incident at 6:30 a.m. at an apartment on Newark's West Side, Gerould said. The home was also believed to be the residence of Edwards, but he was not there, he said.

Houck said Hollist has spoken with police "extensively" since the arrest, but he declined to elaborate further. Hollist is being held in Essex County Correctional Facility and will face extradition, Houck said.

Police had long kept tabs on the men, Houck said.

"We've been monitoring them from the time that this occurred," Houck said.